Method of repairing vehicle body and repair indexing device

ABSTRACT

The present invention concerns a method of repairing a vehicle body and a repair indexing device for estimating the damage of a vehicle body panel and providing a guide for the repair of the vehicle body. A method of repairing the damage of a vehicle body according to the present invention comprises the steps of: measuring quantitatively the depth of a recessed part caused by the damage; and selecting a method from a plurality of previously estimated processes on the basis of the measured result. The processes are selected from putty filling work and sheet metal work. Further, a repair indexing device for a vehicle body according to the present invention comprises: a plate shaped body; and a gauge body provided at the central part of the plate shaped body so as to be capable of sliding in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the plate shaped body; a measuring means provided on the plate shaped body to measure the degree of damage of the vehicle body as the amount of sliding of the gauge body; a method display means for displaying a plurality of processes; and a method selecting means for selecting a method for repairing the damage from the plurality of processes so as to meet the amount of sliding obtained by the measuring means. According to the present invention, the damage of the vehicle body can be quantitatively understood and a proper method of repairing the vehicle can be recognized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of repairing a vehicle bodyand a repair indexing device, and more particularly to a device forproviding the estimation of the damage of a vehicle body panel and aguide for repairing the damage.

2. Description of the Related Art

When a breakage (dent) is generated on the body of a vehicle due to thecause of a traffic accident, the vehicle body is generally recovered toits original state in accordance with repairing methods mentioned below.

Specifically, when the degree of the dent is large, the curvature of asteel plate itself needs to be corrected. This work is called sheetmetal work. The sheet metal work includes a method of correcting thecurvature by striking it out or knocking it out from the back side of aniron plate and a method of correcting the curvature by welding an anchorto the surface of an iron plate by spot welding and drawing it out fromthe surface of the iron plate. Then, after the sheet metal work, a puttyfilling process, a painting process of a primer surfacer and a mainpainting process are successively carried out.

Further, on the other hand, when the degree of the dent is not so largeas to apply the sheet met a work thereto, only the processes after thesheet metal work may be carried out. As for the putty filling process,there exist some methods depending on the degree of the dent and thekinds of putty to be used also differ depending on the degree of thedent. Recently, there has been developed a technique for repairing evena considerably severe dent by using special putty.

As described above, since a sheet metal repair needs to be carried outby repairing work corresponding to the degree of the damage, longexperience is required for deciding how to carry out the repair.Further, high technical skill is also required for the actual repairwork.

However, there are few engineers having such a high level of judgmentand technical ability, and particularly, it is unreasonable from aneconomic point of view to engage such an experienced engineer to repairslight and minor damage.

Thus, an engineer having relatively little experience may be engaged inthe repair of slight and minor damage, however, he may not possiblyjudge what kind of method for repairing the damage is required foractual repair work, which can cause a serious problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made with taking the above describedmatter into consideration, and accordingly, has an object to provide amethod of repairing a vehicle body panel and a repair indexing device bywhich damage of a vehicle body can be quantitatively recognized, thedamage can be estimated and recorded with ease and even a person havinglittle experience can properly determine a proper repairing method.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of repairing the damage of a vehicle body, comprising the stepsof: measuring quantitatively the depth of a recessed part caused by thedamage; and selecting a process from a plurality of previously estimatedprocesses on the basis of the measured result, wherein the process isselected from putty filling work and sheet metal work. direction of theplate shaped body, and the base has auxiliary gauge bodies at both endsthereof so as to freely slide in the directions perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the base. Further, when the normal curvedsurface of the vehicle body panel is a protruding or convex surface, theauxiliary gauge bodies are slid to the vehicle body panel side from thebase to correct the reference point of the gauge body. Still further,when the normal curved surface of the vehicle body panel is a recessedsurface, the plate shaped body is slid to the vehicle body panel sidefrom the base to correct the reference point of the gauge body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda repair indexing device for a vehicle body employed upon repair of thedamage of the vehicle body, comprising: a plate shaped body; a gaugebody provided at the central part of the plate shaped body so as to becapable of sliding in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the plate shaped body; a measuring means provided on theplate shaped body to measure the degree of damage of the vehicle body asthe amount of sliding of the gauge body; a method display means fordisplaying a plurality of processes of a method; and a method selectingmeans for selecting a method of processes for repairing the damage fromthe plurality of methods so as to meet the amount of sliding obtained bythe measuring means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda repair indexing device for a vehicle body in addition to the secondaspect, further comprising: a preliminary measuring means for measuringthe normal surface configuration of a vehicle body panel to be repaired;and a correcting means for correcting the reference value of the gaugebody on the basis of the measured value obtained by the preliminarymeasuring means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda repair indexing device for a vehicle body in addition to the secondaspect, further comprising: a deforming means for bending the plateshaped body in the direction perpendicular to the direction of thethickness of the plate shaped body, wherein the deforming means deformsthe plate shaped body so as to correspond to the normal curved surfaceof the vehicle body panel to be repaired and the measuring means setsthe plate shaped body thus deformed to the reference value of the gaugebody.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda repair indexing device for a vehicle body in addition to the fourthaspect, wherein the deforming means has a long plate, peninsular partsrespectively extend from both ends of the long plate in the directionsperpendicular to that of the long plate and the tip ends of thepeninsular parts are connected together by means of a substantiallyexpansible high strength body, and the high strength body is expandedand contracted so that the long plate can be bent perpendicularly and inthe direction of its thickness.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda repair indexing device for a vehicle body in addition to the secondaspect, wherein the plate shaped body is provided with a base formed soas to freely slide in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal

The above described measuring means may be formed as a scale formeasuring the amount of sliding of the gauge body. A plurality ofmethods may be displayed on the scale.

As the plate shaped body, a transparent plate made of a synthetic resincan be employed. The gauge body is preferably made of a synthetic resin.The scale may be preferably scored on the plate shaped body and anadhesive sheet or the like may be used in place thereof.

The method display means describes some specific repair methods. It isdesired to divide the scale into some areas and describe the repairmethods respectively corresponding to the areas.

Further, the long plate and the peninsular parts are formed with aflexible material such as a synthetic resin so as to be deformable. Thehigh strength body may be preferably formed as a metallic shaft. Then,thread parts are formed in the parts of the high strength body and theconnecting parts of the peninsular parts. Thus, the high strength bodyis rotated so that the length of the high strength body between both thepeninsular parts can be expanded and contracted.

Upon use of the repair indexing device with the above describedstructure, on the assumption that a part subjected to a damage, forexample, a dent is generated on the central part of a left door, thesame position of a right door having no deformation is first measured sothat the amount of the dent of the left door is measured on the basis ofthe measured result.

Specifically, the plate shaped body is initially deformed so as tocorrespond to the configuration of the right door which is not subjectedto a damage to store the configuration (configuration of a curvedsurface) of the right door in the plate shaped body. Under this state,the plate shaped body is made to abut on the deformed part of the leftdoor, and then, the gauge body is slid to measure the depth of thedented part. This depth can be directly read on the scale. Further, themethods described adjacently to the scale permit a user to understandthe contents of a repair to be carried out.

As described above, the repair indexing device serves to store thenormal configuration of a body by deforming the plate shaped bodyitself. Since the plate shaped body can be freely deformed so that itcan readily meet a case in which the normal body is configured with arecessed surface as well as a case in which the normal body isconfigured with a convexed or protruding surface.

Further, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, thebase and the plate shaped body can slide relative to each other, so thatthe normal body configuration can be stored.

In other words, when the normal body configuration is provided with arecessed surface, the plate shaped body is moved forward to the bodyside so as to store the normal configuration. On the other hand, whenthe normal body configuration is provided with a convexed or protrudingsurface, the auxiliary bodies are moved forward to the body side so asto store the normal configuration.

In the above described example according to the sixth aspect of thepresent invention, a measuring method employed in the case of the normalbody configuration of the recessed surface is different from thatemployed in the case of the normal body configuration of the convexedsurface.

In both the cases, after the normal body configuration is stored, theplate shaped body is made to abut on the damaged or deformed part, andthen, the gauge body is slid to measure the depth of the dent part. Thisdepth can be directly read on the scale. Further, the methods describedadjacently to the scale permit a user to understand the contents of arepair to be carried out.

According to the present invention, the degree of the damage of avehicle body can be quantitatively grasped and a repairing methodcorresponding to the degree of the damage can be properly recognized.

Further, according to the present invention, the plate shaped body ismade to abut on the damaged part after the normal body shape is stored,and then, the gauge body is slid to measure the depth of the bent part,and the damage of the vehicle body can be quantitatively recognized withgood accuracy, and the damage can be estimated and recorded with ease.

Still further, even an engineer having little experience can suitablyselect a suitable repairing method by using the device of the presentinvention, so that the repair of the vehicle body can be properly andrapidly carried out at low cost.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a plate shaped plate part of a repairindexing device according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a deforming means part of the repairindexing device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a gauge body part of the repair indexingdevice according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the plate shaped body part of the repairindexing device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional view showing the plate shaped body part ofthe repair indexing device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the repair indexing device according tothe first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a base part of a repair indexing deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the repair indexing device according tothe second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a first state of the procedure for using therepair indexing device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a side view of a second state of the procedure for using therepair indexing device according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a side view of a first state of the procedure for using therepair indexing device according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 12 is a side view of a second state of the procedure for using therepair indexing device according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, a method of repairing a vehicle body and a repair indexing deviceaccording to the present invention will be described in more detail byway of embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 12.

Initially, an explanation will be given to the repair indexing device,and then, the method of repairing a vehicle body will be described atthe same time when the procedure for using the repair indexing device isdescribed.

The repair indexing device according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention will be described by referring to FIGS. 1 to 6 andFIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 1 shows the entire part of a plate shaped body 1. The plate shapedbody 1 is formed with a transparent synthetic resin. A gauge body 2 isprovided at the central part of the plate shaped body 1 so as to becapable of sliding in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the plate shaped body 1.

The gauge body 2 is generally formed in the shape of an arrow mark asshown in FIG. 3. One end of the gauge body is a tip end part 2 a and twoslots 2 b and 2 b are provided at the central parts of the gauge body 2.Then, pointers 2 c and 2 c are formed at both the sides of the main bodypart of the gauge body 2.

On the other hand, pins 1 a and 1 a are provided on the plate shapedbody 1 as shown in FIG. 4. The above described slots 2 b and 2 b areloosely fitted to the pins 1 a and 1 a. Thus, the gauge body 2 iscapable of freely sliding in a direction shown by an arrow mark Frelative to the plate shaped body 1.

On the surface of the plate shaped body 1, there are scored scales(measuring means) 3 for measuring the amount of sliding of the gaugebody 2. The pointers (method selecting means) 2 c and 2 c correspond tothe scales 3, so that a user can see which parts of the scales 3 thepointers 2 c and 2 c indicate through the transparent plate shaped body1.

As shown in FIG. 4, on the rear edge of the plate shaped body 1, anengaging part 1 b with a U-shape in section is provided. Side engagingparts 1 c are provided on both the side edges of the plate shaped body1.

Further, area display scales 20 and 20 for displaying the length and thearea of the damaged part are provided on the front edge of the plateshaped body 1. On the area display scales 20 and 20, there are alsoprovided displays on the basis of decimeter unit. There are displayed 1square decimeters (10 cm square) 2 square decimeters, 3 squaredecimeters and 4 square decimeters, successively from the internal sideof the scales. The scales are made to abut on the actual damaged part,so that an approximate area (area gained by assuming that the lengthwiselength of the damaged part is approximate to the widthwise lengththereof) can be calculated.

On the surface of the plate shaped body 1, a plurality of methods(method display means) 4 are displayed so as to correspond to the scales3. In the methods 4, a “putty scales” and a “sheet metal scale” areindependently displayed. The “putty scale” shown in the loft side ofFIG. 1 comprises four steps of “range of finishing by performing aspecial putty filling work once”, “range of finishing by performing aspecial putty filling work twice”, “specification of ordinary formedputty” and “sheet metal work required”.

These steps show that the more the step advances, the more heavy thedegree of the damage becomes. As mentioned below, as the amount ofprotrusion of the gauge body 2 increases (the recessed part becomesdeeper),it is more necessary to carry out sheet metal work.

On the other hand, the “sheet metal scale” shown in the right side ofFIG. 1 is employed when the body is repaired mainly by sheet metal workwithout using the above described “putty scale”, which is only used asan auxiliary method. The “sheet metal scale” of the methods 4 comprisesfour steps of “optimum surfacing”, “minimum range in which a surfacingis difficult”, “range of drawing out by a sealing method” and “strikingwork from a back side required”. These steps also indicate a fact thatthe more the step advances, the more heavy the degree of the damagebecomes. As the amount of protrusion of the gauge body 2 increases, itis more necessary to carry out the sheet metal work.

Here, the sealing method means a method employing a transparent sheet onwhich a recommended position where the body is to be drawn out isprinted. More specifically, when the dent of the body is drawn out, itis not desirable to carry out drawing-out work at random, but it isnecessary to carry out the drawing-out work at a plurality of properpositions in order to perform repairing work more rapidly andeffectively. For this purpose, the positions where the dent of the bodyis to be drawn out are designated by the positions printed on thetransparent sheet.

In the plate shaped body 1, is provided a deforming means 5 for bendingthe plate shaped plate 1 in the direction of its thickness (in thedirection of a short side in the rectangular plate shaped body 1) and inthe direction perpendicular to the direction of thickness (in thedirection of a long side in the rectangular plate shaped body 1). Thedeforming means has a long plate 6 formed with an elastic syntheticresin. Peninsular parts 7 and 7 extend from both the ends of the longplate 6 in the directions perpendicular to the long plate 6. The ends ofthe peninsular parts 7 and 7 are connected together by an expansiblehigh strength body 8. The high strength body 8 is provided with astainless steel rod with a screw 8 a cut at its one end and has athumbscrew 8 b attached to one end side. Further, the high strength body8 is supported by the peninsular parts 7 and 7 by means of cylindricalstoppers 8 c and 8 c.

Then, the thumbscrew 8 b is rotated so that the high strength body 8 canbe tensed or stretched, or compressed or reduced from both the sidesthereof. In other words, the length of the high strength body 8 betweenboth the peninsular parts 7 and 7 is substantially expanded orcontracted. Since the long plate 6 has an elasticity (flexibility), thetension or compression of the high strength body 8 causes the long plate6 to be bent. The front edge of the long plate 6 is formed in an acuteangle part 6 a.

The deforming means 5 having the above mentioned structure is formedintegrally with the plate shaped body 1 as shown in FIG. 6. That is tosay , the deforming means 5 is held by the engaging part 1band the sideengaging parts 1 c so that the deforming means 5 is formed integrallywith the plate shaped body 1.

Accordingly when the deforming means 5 is deformed, the plate shapedbody 1 is also deformed in conditions as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Thedeforming means 5 is equivalent to a preliminary measuring means and acorrecting means.

Now, a method of using a repair indexing device will be described.

Initially, a normal body configuration needs to be stored in the repairindexing device, because if the normal configuration as a referencecannot be understood, the degree of the deformation of the deformed bodycannot be accurately measured.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the non-deformed (i.e., normal)configuration of the body is stored in a position symmetrical withrespect to a position 22 where the body 21 is deformed (for instance, aright door panel with respect to a left door panel). In other words, theplate-shaped body 1 is calibrated by positioning the body 1 on anon-deformed body 21 which is similar in shape to the deformed body, andadjusting the deforming means. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, thisadjusting is carried out by turning the thumb screw 8 b so as to changethe length of the distance between the peninsular parts 7 and 7 to asufficient extent that the pointers 2 c are adjusted to point to the 0position on the scales 3. At this time, the deforming means 5 isadjusted so that three points including the both ends of the plateshaped body 1 and the tip end of the gauge body 2 come into contact withthe body 21. Here, the pointers 2 c are adjusted so as to point topoints 0 of the scales 3. In other words, the dent to be corrected iscalibrated to 0 in the normal configuration.

In this connection, the tip end of the gauge body 2 may be set to beflush with the tip ends of the plate shaped body 1. In this case, thecurvature of the tip ends of the deformed plate shaped body 1 isidentical with the normal configuration (curvature) of the body 21.

Subsequently; as shown in FIG. 10, the repair indexing device is made toabut on the deformed side of the body 21 to push out the gauge body 2toward the interior of the deformed position 22. Then, the pointers 2 cadvance on the scales 3 by the amount of pushing out the gauge body 2,hence the amount of the dent of the recessed part can be recognized (theabove described operations correspond to a measuring step).

At the same time, the contents of a repair work to be carried out can begrasped in accordance with the descriptions of the methods adjacently tothe scales 3 (a selecting step).

The repair indexing device according to the present invention may bereused during the repair work so as to properly obtain a new repairindex. Further, the methods in the sheet metal scale side may becombined stepwise with the methods in the putty scale side to cay outthe repairing work.

Besides, the gauge body 2 of the repair indexing device is provided atthe central part of the plate shaped body 1, because a maximum damagepart (an innermost part) of the damaged part is ordinarily located inthe central part of the damaged part.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below byviewing FIGS. 7, 8, 11 and 12.

According to this embodiment, a base 9 is added as an additionalcomponent to the plate shaped body 1 of the first embodiment. The base 9is provided with a reinforcing body 9 a therein and auxiliary gaugebodies 10 and 10 at both the ends thereof so as to be retractable. Theauxiliary gauge bodies 10 and 10 are provided with pins 25. On the otherhand, slots 23 and 23 are provided in the base 9. Then, the pins 25 areinserted into the slots 23 and 23 and fixed by means of round nuts 24and 24. Consequently, the auxiliary gauge bodies 10 and 10 can slide insuch a manner as illustrated in FIG. 7.

Then, on the base 9, a plate shaped body 1 similar to that in the firstembodiment is provided so as to be capable of sliding. The plate shapedbody 1 of the second embodiment is different from the plate shaped body1 of the first embodiment in that slots 26 and 26 are formed in both thesides of the plate shaped body 1 according to the second embodiment.Other structural components of the plate shaped body 1 of the secondembodiment of the present invention are identical with those of that ofthe first embodiment, and therefore, the same reference characters asthose of the first embodiment are attached thereto and an explanationthereof will be omitted.

Pins 28 and 28 are formed upright in the base 9 side, inserted throughthe slots 26 and 26 in the plate shaped body 1 and fixed by means ofround nuts 27 and 27.

Subsequently, the procedure for using the repair indexing deviceaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed hereinafter.

In this repair indexing device, the base 9 and the plate shaped body 1can slide in the direction of thickness so as to store a normal bodyconfiguration. Measuring methods are different from each other between acase in which the normal body configuration is provided with a recessedsurface and a case in which tie normal body configuration has a convexor protruding surface.

Initially, a form in which a body 21 is configured so as to have arecessed surface is described by referring to FIGS. 11 and 12. In thiscase, in the body 21 with the normal configuration as shown in FIG. 11,the plate shaped body 1 is moved toward the body side so that threepoints including the auxiliary bodies 10 and 10 and the gauge body 2come into contact with the body 21. Here, pointers 2 c are adjusted soas to point to the point 0 of scales 3.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12, while the repair indexing device ismade to abut on a deformed part 22, the gauge body 2 is slid to measurethe depth of the recessed part.

When the body 21 has a convex surface, while the gauge body 2 is made toabut on the part of the normal body configuration, the auxiliary gaugebodies are pulled/drawn until they abut on the body 21. Thus, the normalbody configuration is stored. Then, while the repair indexing deviceabuts on the deformed part 22, the gauge body 2 is slid to measure thedepth of the recessed part.

After the normal body configuration is first stored in such a manner,the plate shaped body 1 is made to abut on the damaged part and then,the gauge body 2 is slid to measure the depth of the recessed part, sothat even an operator having relatively little experience can recognizeat a glance a correct amount of a dent and a method required for arepair work. Therefore, the necessary putty filling work and the sheetmetal work can be rapidly carried out.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to thecontents of the above described embodiments, and a person with ordinaryskill in the art can form various kinds of modifications withoutdeparting from the gist described in the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A repair indexing device for a vehicle body,comprising: a plate shaped body; a gauge body provided at the centralpart of said plate shaped body so as to be capable of sliding in thedirection perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said plateshaped body; a measuring means provided on said plate shaped body tomeasure the degree of damage of the vehicle body as the amount ofsliding of said gauge body; a method display means for displaying aplurality of processes; and a method selecting means for selecting aprocess for repairing the damage from said plurality of processes so asto meet the amount of sliding obtained by said measuring means.
 2. Arepair indexing device for a vehicle body according to claim 1, whereinsaid plate shaped body comprises: a preliminary measuring means formeasuring the normal surface configuration of a vehicle body panel to berepaired; and a correcting means for correcting the reference value ofsaid gauge body on the basis of the measured value obtained by saidpreliminary measuring means.
 3. A repair indexing device for a vehiclebody according to claim 1, further comprising: a deforming means forbending said plate shaped body in the direction perpendicular to thedirection of the thickness of said plate shaped body, wherein saiddeforming means deforms said plate shaped body so as to correspond tothe normal curved surface of the vehicle body panel to be repaired, andsaid measuring means sets said plate shaped body thus deformed to thereference value of said gauge body.
 4. A repair indexing device for avehicle body according to claim 3, wherein said deforming means has along plate, peninsular parts respectively extend from the both ends ofthe long plate in the directions perpendicular to that of the longplate, the tip ends of the peninsular parts are connected together bymeans of a substantially expansible high strength body, and the highstrength body is expanded and contracted so that the long plate can bebent perpendicularly and in the direction of its thickness.
 5. A repairindexing device for a vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein saidplate shaped body is provided with a base formed so as to freely slidein the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of saidplate shaped body, and said base has auxiliary gauge bodies at both theends thereof so as to freely slide in the directions perpendicular tothe longitudinal direction of said base.
 6. A repair indexing deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein when the normal curved surface of thevehicle body panel is a protruding or convexed surface, said auxiliarygauge bodies are slid to the vehicle body panel side from said base tocorrect the reference point of said gauge body.
 7. A repair indexingdevice for a vehicle body according to claim 5, wherein when the normalcurved surface of the vehicle body panel is a recessed surface, saidplate shaped body is slid to the vehicle body panel side from said baseto correct the reference point of said gauge body.